A Monday hearing hosted by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) focused on police-ordered vehicle towing, with representatives from towing companies arguing their reimbursement rates should be increased.
The hearing followed the March 4 release of a Police-Ordered Towing Council’s report, which states the majority of council members believe that “the proposed rate schedules and charges are just and reasonable.”
At the start of the year, DMV officials increased towing reimbursement rates by 13.5%. Representatives from towing companies argued that, even with the increased rate, the reimbursement was not high enough, causing turnover and tight margins that put their future at risk.
“I just lost a driver who was a very good driver that was with me for five years,” said Michael Festa, the owner of MyHoopty in Watertown and a founder of the Association of Connecticut Towers, “he took a job at a dealership, and he chose to be a mechanic because he can make $7 an hour more wrenching cars, working a 9-5.”
Currently, towing companies are reimbursed $125 per hour for light-duty vehicles under 10,000 pounds, $400 for medium-duty vehicles, $700 for heavy-duty vehicles, and $1,500 for oversized vehicles. There is a mileage charge of $5.65 for light-duty towing if the company drives the towed car for more than two miles. There is no mileage reimbursement for the heavier vehicles.
According to Festa, police-ordered towing has different challenges than towing from private property. Cars towed from private property are usually in working condition and in parking spaces, he said, while police-ordered tows frequently involve cars that are broken down and abandoned on the side of roads.
As a result, the cost of retrieving these vehicles—especially trucks—is significantly greater. Festa lamented the rising cost of insurance and noted that insurance does not reimburse all of the expenses associated with towing these cars, including equipment that is broken when towing them.
This DMV hearing was held a week after Connecticut legislators passed SB 413, or “An Act Revising Various Motor Vehicle Statutes.”
Last year, Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica published a series investigating car towing practices in the state. Their work won a Pulitzer Prize.
SB 413 changed state law so towing companies can only sell cars that are over 15 years old and were towed at least 30 days before they were sold. Previously, a towing company could sell a car after 15 days had passed without the owner claiming it, if the company determined that the car cost less than $1,500.
The Police-Ordered Towing Council report further stated a finding that rates “appropriately reflect the legitimate operating costs of wrecker services.”
In his testimony, Festa said the Council’s report “isn’t perfect,” but that he hopes the DMV agrees to the recommended rate changes. The report recommends increasing the base hourly rates to $200 for light-duty towing, $475 for medium-duty vehicles, $1,275 for heavy-duty vehicles, and $1,950 for oversized vehicles.
Public testimony will remain open until Monday, May 18.
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